A Mom and Son Sharing Great Books We Find While Writing Our Own Books

Month: July 2017

There comes a time when a child no longer believes that his parent knows everything. The child may even be embarrassed by how his parent behaves in public. Enter Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver. He finds ways to help children change their parents’ unattractive behavior.

Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver by Lorri Horn is an entertaining read for middle grade kids. It tells of young entrepreneur Dewey Fairchild and his ingenious profession.Dewey got the idea for his business when his friend Seraphina shared a problem she had with her mom. Nine-and-a-half-year-old Seraphina’s mother was being overprotective: holding her hand to cross the street, walking her into school, and protecting her from using butter knives. She even cut Seraphina’s meat for her at dinner!

Dewey spent time observing Seraphina and her mother. He then came up with a plan to change Seraphina’s mom’s behavior. It worked so well that word spread that Dewey was a “parent problem solver.” Soon, every kid needed his help.

One year later, Dewey’s business is so busy that he has an office (in his attic), an assistant (his old babysitter), and letterhead stationery. Kids who want to request his services crawl through the air ducts and fly down a slide into the attic, munching on homemade cookies that have been strategically placed in the air vent entrance.

Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver follows Dewey as he tackles his cases. He searches for solutions to the parent-created problems of kids in his town, including, with the help of three good friends—Seraphina, Colin, and assistant Clara—a problem that is close to home. When he overhears his parents talking about moving the family to Alaska, he decides something has to be done. Surely Dewey Fairchild, PPS, can solve this parent-problem!

Readers will laugh out loud at Dewey’s investigative strategies, at the various problems he faces (including a public nose-picking dad!), and the solutions he dreams up! Parents: watch your behavior around your kids once they’ve read this one, or you might find yourself crying on YouTube!

Lorri Horn thought she wanted to study vervet monkeys and become a famous biological anthropologist. But she says: “it turns out you have to rough it and camp to do that kind of job and Lorri’s more of a pillow-top mattress and no bug-repellant kind of gal.” Plus, the monkeys never showed up for story time. So she became a teacher instead! You can read more about her on Dewey Fairchild’s website: www.deweyfairchild.com. This is Ms. Horn’s first middle grade fiction book.

Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver goes on sale next week. I highly recommend picking up a copy for your middle grade readers! I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. We can’t wait for the next book of Dewey Fairchild’s cases!

The Beast kidnapped Belle and held her in the castle against her will. She fell in love with him because she had Stockholm Syndrome.

This is how Maddie’s Rotten Stepbrother Holden “Ruined Beauty and the Beast.”Eleven-year-old Maddie loves fairy tale princesses. For Halloween, she decides to dress up as Belle. Her new stepmother suggests that Holden should dress up as the Beast. After creating a truly horrifying costume, Holden presents his Stockholm Syndrome alternative to Maddie’s true love fairy tale.

Holden is forced to change out of his costume before they go to the school Halloween party. Maddie’s dad suggests that he wear a suit and tell people he’s a lawyer.

After the party, Holden notices that his tablet (what lawyer goes anywhere without one?) is still turned on. He looks at it and calls Maddie over. They see pictures from the story of Beauty and the Beast, but the tale doesn’t end the way they remember. They realize that Holden has somehow changed the story. Before they know what’s happening, they are transported into the story so that they can fix it.

Maddie is transformed into Belle. Holden is. . . the lawyer.

Maddie and Holden enter Beauty and the Beast just as Belle is marrying the Beast. But the Beast hasn’t changed back into a human. Before they can be married, he is arrested for kidnapping.

Holden is the Beast’s lawyer. He has to overcome his feelings about the fairy tale and work with the Beast to find a strategy to fight the kidnapping charge.

Meanwhile, Maddie has her own challenges. Holden’s statements have her questioning whether Belle’s love for the Beast is true love or the result of brainwashing. She sets out to find out the truth for herself and for Belle!

Jerry Mahoney has created a hilarious new spin on the classic fairy tale. His story combines a wonderful step-sibling dynamic and adds in the natural language barriers inherent in transporting two 21st-century kids to a secluded French village “once upon a time.”

Jerry Mahoney is the author of Mommy Man: How I Went from Mild-Mannered Geek to Gay Superdad, his memoir. After reading just a few posts on his blog, I bought a copy of the book—it looks like it will be just as entertaining as his children’s books! His website is http://www.jerry-mahoney.com.

My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Beauty and the Beast will be released on August 1, 2017. I received an advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review. Three other titles in the My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Fairy Tales series are being released on August 1 as well. I can’t wait to read My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Cinderella (the first book in the series), My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Aladdin, and My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Snow White!

Yep, it’s true. I have one copy of the brand-new book by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella to give away this week! I’ll be running the GIVEAWAY for one week.New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Scottoline is well-known for her legal series (which is how I first found her) and her emotional thrillers. She writes one of each of these a year. She also writes a third book every year – she and her daughter Francesca team up to write a collection of entertaining tales from their lives. I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool is their seventh collection of non-fiction stories (Ms. Scottoline also wrote an eighth on her own).

Ms. Scottoline has been one of my favorite authors since I read one of her Rosato & DiNunzio books a few years ago and promptly returned to the library to check out everything Ms. Scottoline had written. So I couldn’t wait to jump into this collection of essays by Ms. Scottoline and Ms. Serritella. The two authors had me in stitches as I read stories about turning thirty, trips to the dermatologist, holidays with friends and family, and disputes with apartment neighbors.

I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool is a great choice for anyone who enjoys funny short essays. Laugh out loud as Ms. Scottoline shares her love of school supplies and Ms. Serritella discusses the most recent primary and general elections. The book is written in a down-to-earth way that makes you feel like you are just chatting with your friends Lisa and Francesca! A great read!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review, and now am excited to share a copy of the finished product with one lucky winner!

CLICK HERE to enter the giveaway to win a copy of I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool!

This was my introduction to Binny and her family, and I was bewitched from the start. This is the third Binny book by Hilary McKay, and I hope Ms. McKay has many more tales to tell about this enchanting character!Twelve-year-old Binny (Belinda) Cornwallis lives with her mother, her seventeen-year-old sister Clem (Clemency), and her six-year-old brother James. They live in a small house, where they had to move after Binny’s father died four years ago. Money is tight, but fortunately they have some help fixing up the house from a handyman named Pete.

Binny is walking home from school one day, wishing she had money to buy her mother a birthday present. As she passes the bank, she spies a pile of money left in the ATM. It appears her wish has been granted! Magic or miracle, Binny is glad to accept the gift.

She soon decides that the witch who lives next door, Miss Piper, knows about the money. Guilt begins to gnaw at her, and Binny realizes that she has to return it to the bank. But when she looks for the money, she discovers she’s lost it.

Binny asks Gareth, her best enemy and most loyal friend, to help find the missing money. They create a list of suspects and then begin an investigation so that they can cross names off the list. Against her better judgment, Binny allows herself to be convinced to include friends and family as suspects.

Through her investigation, Binny begins to mistrust even people closest to her. She finds out how easy it can be to hurt those she cares about, and learns how wrong she can be about people. She has to work to repair her relationships, and even starts to like Miss Piper. She concludes that money can’t solve all of her family’s problems.

Although I haven’t read the other two Binny books, I suspect that this is not the only time that Binny’s wild imagination and impetuous nature has gotten her into hilarious situations. Binny is the kind of kid who makes you smile—or laugh out loud—as you root for her. And yet, you know that if you were her parent, you would simply shake your head and sigh, “Oh Binny!” before pulling her into your arms.

Hilary McKay is the author of a number of children’s books, including the Binny books, the Casson Family series, the Lulu chapter book series and the Meet Charlie—He’s Trouble chapter book series. Ms. McKay explains on her website (www.hilarymckay.co.uk) that she left a job as a biochemist so that she could devote more time to her writing (and her children). Thank-you Ms. McKay!

Ms. McKay describes the first stage of writing a book as “a bit like cooking.” I love her analogy, and am adding the whole recipe to my “Ingredients for Cooking a Book” page!

I received an advance reader copy of Binny Bewitched in exchange for my unbiased review of the book. But I’m on the lookout for other Hilary McKay books now—starting with the first two Binny books! I’m so glad to have been introduced to this fantastic author!

A mother and her two kids are walking past a magician when he offers them some of his magic items for free. With a stopwatch, they’ll be able to stop time. With a camera, they’ll be able to put themselves into a picture. And with his carpet, they’ll be able to fly.

Why doesn’t stuff like this ever happen to me?

Unfortunately, the mother I describe is not this hopeful blogger. She is the mother of two of the three main characters in Magic in the City, by Heather Dyer. Rachel Grubb and her sons, Jake and Simon, are traveling from their home in Canada to live with her sister in England when they meet the magician.The night they arrive at their Aunt Helen’s house, Jake and Simon discover that the magician was telling the truth about the magic carpet. They fly off over London, seeing the sights they had read about in their tourist guidebook.

Their cousin Hannah joins them the next day as they test the stopwatch. Younger brother Simon wants to see the Queen, but Hannah soon suspects that Jake has something else in mind. Their day is filled with adventure, fun, and surprises!

Magic in the City is an enjoyable and quick read. The action moves swiftly and draws young readers in, as they wait to see what will happen next to Jake, Hannah, and Simon.

If I had one wish with this book, it would be that Jake, Hannah, and Simon had spent just a little more time in each of their adventures. The picture Ms. Dyer drew of each place was so vivid, and the predicament that the kids were in was so entertaining, that I would have loved to experience each place for just a bit longer. But, I suppose this is like many a book that I’ve read and loved—Ms. Dyer successfully left me wanting more!

Heather Dyer is the author of five children’s novels and a picture book. She explains on her website that, like Magic in the City, “all of [her] books feature ordinary children to whom something magical happens.” These include a story about a girl whose bedroom can fly her to magical adventures, a story about twins who meet a girl with feathery wings, and a story about a boy who finds a mermaid with stringy hair and a chipped front tooth!

Although I received an electronic advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review, Alex read the first chapter and loved it so much that he wanted to do a book report on it for school. We pre-ordered the book so that it would arrive the day it was released and then Alex could work from a paper copy over the next two months as he prepared his report. If you follow this blog (or even check it out once in a while), you know that we read a lot of books in our house, so Alex’s reaction was high praise, indeed!

Anyway, I’ve found a few amazing ideas for kids to do in Japan: traveling on the bullet train is a MUST (click here for an article about the Shinkansen), and I think we need to take a trip up to see the Jigokudani Monkey Park (check out this article!).

Anyone have other thoughts of what we absolutely HAVE to do while we are in Japan? I would hate to come home and learn about other great opportunities.

Please send your suggestions in the comments or by email! Keep in mind I will have two small kids with me.

I’m amazed to be sharing the second knitting hero* in one week! Zinnia and the Bees opens with Zinnia and her older brother yarn bombing the middle school mascot, Ronny the rattlesnake.For those unfamiliar with yarn bombing, it is street art for knitters—covering bike racks, parking meters, and other items in the public eye with knitting or crocheting. Check out some beautiful examples here.

Zinnia is a twelve year-old girl with what can only be described as a knitting compulsion. Her passion for knitting becomes compulsive (or more compulsive) when her brother Adam disappears, leaving her with their emotionally absent mother. Their mother, Dr. Flossdrop, communicates with Zinnia almost exclusively by leaving post-it notes on their door.

When Dr. Flossdrop refuses to talk to Zinnia about Adam leaving, Zinnia decides that she’ll have to search for him herself. She decides to begin the search at Adam’s favorite hangout—an ice cream parlor. And that’s where she runs into THE BEES.

I have to admit that bees are one of my irrational fears. Put me in a room with a bee, a wasp, anything with a stinger and a buzz, and the flying menace is the only thing I can concentrate on. It’s become a bit of a joke among those who know me well (or, frankly, those who know me at all but have been in the room with me during these unpleasant encounters).

So I was both fascinated and horrified by the description of the cloud of bees following Zinnia from the ice cream parlor. In that chapter, author Danielle Davis essentially described my nightmare come true. But when the bees catch up with Zinnia, unlike in my nightmares, the bees don’t sting her. Instead, 4,000 bees take up residence in Zinnia’s hair (I’m not sure that’s much better than being stung).

The buzzing and tingling feelings are ever-present reminders of the bees throughout the book. Zinnia hides her hair under a sweater hood so that no one will see the bees.

Zinnia needs to figure out how to get rid of the bees in her hair and how to find her brother. She feels completely lost and doesn’t know where to start. But then she meets Birch, who is visiting his uncle for the summer. Birch offers to help find a solution for the bees. Through her time with Birch, Zinnia learns about friendship and about herself.

This is a fantastic debut novel by Ms. Davis. She explores emotional themes of parental loss, family relationship struggles, former friendships, and personal growth with an excellent touch for the middle-grade reader. Zinnia and the Bees is a tough book to put down (another set of late nights . . .).

Zinnia and the Bees will be released on August 1, 2017. I received an advanced reader copy of the book so that I could provide an unbiased review.

Ms. Davis is online at www.danielledavisreadsandwrites.com. You can download a discussion guide (which includes Ms. Davis’s answers to questions, so it’s also like having a mini author interview) and facts about honeybees.

The unique star of the Wilf the Mighty Worrier series by Georgia Pritchett is a sweet, endearing hero who will grab readers’ hearts and have them cheering until the very end.Before I go on, let me clarify one thing: I did not make a typo in the title of this post. Wilf is, indeed, a Mighty WORRIER. He worries about many things. He even carries a leaflet around called “How To Stop Worrying,” which he consults throughout the book. He also keeps extra copies handy so that he can pass the leaflet out when he learns of others’ fears.

When presented with a challenge, Wilf will consult the leaflet. Then he often has a great big old worry, and then he has a great big old think, and then he thinks so hard that his brain feels dizzy—then he’ll get an idea! This habit gets him out of many scrapes!

Wilf the Mighty Worrier is King of the Jungle opens with Wilf making a list of thing that he is afraid of. This list includes: scarecrows, poodles, being eaten by animals, beetles, snakes, and crocodiles. One might imagine that he’s unlikely to run into many of the things on his list at home. But then his mom tells him that they are going on vacation to Africa!

To make matters worse, they are going on vacation with the next-door neighbors—Alan and Pam. Alan is full of evil plans to destroy the world, and the trip to Africa doesn’t slow him down at all.

Wilf finds himself in the middle of Alan’s plans for destruction, and has to save the world. He must also face many of his fears and keep his baby sister safe.

Wilf the Mighty Worrier is King of the Jungle is aimed at early readers, and features the occasional fart or poop joke to generate laughter. My youngest laughed out loud for a long time at the mention of Alan’s great invention—the Premier Official Optimum Beast Understanding Machine, or “POOBUM.” Most of the book is accessible for young readers; however, it does have some invented words (like “exhaustipated”) that will be tough to figure out.

The illustrations in Wilf the Mighty Worrier is King of the Jungle bring additional humor to the book. There are pictures on nearly every page. In a few instances, they provide details not found in the printed story (such as the items on Wilf’s list of things that he is afraid of).

There are currently four books in the Wilf the Mighty Worrier series, with a fifth expected soon. Wilf has his own website: www.wilfthemightyworrier.com, where you can find “The Worrier Checklist: How to Stop Worrying.” The checklist is similar to the leaflet Wilf takes to Africa—some of the suggestions are the same. There is also a Wilf Quiz, an Extra Story, and many video clips.

Wilf the Mighty Worrier is King of the Jungle will be released tomorrow, July 11, 2017. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

I have always been fascinated by the Northern Lights. I don’t know if it’s because I grew up in the North – I used to stand outside at night wishing (or hoping) to see them. Or maybe it’s just because the Northern Lights are simply a very cool natural phenomenon!

Harriet Peck Taylor has created an extraordinary tale about the Northern Lights in Ulaq and the Northern Lights. A fantastic picture book for all ages!One evening, a very curious fox named Ulaq sees “strange blue and green ribbons of light that swirled across the darkness.” He can’t rest without knowing what they are.

Ulaq begins running across the snowy tundra, asking all of the animals he meets to explain the lights. Without hesitation, each animal gives him a new (and different) explanation for what the lights are and what they mean.

To Seal, they are a sign that there will be plenty of fish to eat over the coming year. Wolf sees the flames of the campfires of distant hunters, while Polar Bear sees a sign from unborn children. Caribou explains that the lights are swaying ghosts and that it is dangerous to be out in the open because sometimes the ghosts actually come down from the sky.

The more animals Ulaq meets, the more explanations he hears. You’ll have to read the book to see what Ulaq finally figures out about the Northern Lights!

Ms. Taylor included an Author’s Note explaining that:

People living in northern regions often created their own legends to explain the mystery of the northern lights, which scientists call the aurora borealis. Some people thought the lights were ghosts, while others believed they saw flames in them, and still others thought they saw their ancestors, or foxes, fish, or other images. This story is based in part on several of those legends.

Ms. Taylor’s illustrations in Ulaq and the Northern Lights are beautiful. The various shades of blue in the sky, the sea, and the snow are vibrant. Each of the animals are outlined in white, which creates a striking contrast with the dark blue of the sky.

I love the first paragraph of the author bio found on the back flap of the book:

Harriet Peck Taylor was surprised by the aurora borealis late one night while camping on the shores of Lake Superior. She noticed a faint glow in the sky. Slowly it became brighter and began moving like a great curtain of green and white light. As curious and awed as Ulaq the fox, she knew then that the northern lights would form the basis of one of her stories.